3 And 4, Tower Street

This is a late 18th-century house, originally a single dwelling, which has since been sub-divided into two separate properties, numbered 3 and 4 Tower Street, in Bideford. The front of the building is constructed of red brick in a Flemish bond pattern, with the window arches painted. It has a slate roof, and a brick chimney on the left gable-end, plus another on the rear wall. The building is two storeys high, with a semi-basement beneath No. 3, where the ground level slopes downwards. There are three windows across the front. The original entrance to the house is located in the centre of the ground storey of No. 3, with a subsequent entrance to No. 4 added adjacent to it on the right. No. 3 features a round-arched doorway approached by three old stone steps, flanked by fluted Doric pilasters which support an entablature with oval metal panels in the frieze and a bracketed cornice. The door itself is six-panelled, with the two lower panels being flush, and it has matching reveals and a large lion-head knocker. No. 4 has a plain doorway with a late 20th-century wood door and a 19th-century two-paned fanlight above. The windows are set within slightly curved brick arches and have barred sashes that are almost flush with the brickwork. The middle second-storey window has 6 over 6 panes, while the centre lights of the triple-sashed outer windows have 6 over 6 panes, and the sidelights have 2 over 2 panes. A plank door provides access to the semi-basement. The eaves have a boxed cornice. The interior of the building was not fully inspected, although the stair compartment of No. 3 opens directly off the front door. This contains an open-well wooden stair with thin square balusters, column-newels, and shaped step-ends.